Automatic telephone pay-station



G. A. LONG.

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE PAY STATION.

Patented July 5, 1921..

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25,1920.

4 SHEETS-SHEET l.

INVENTOR. W 7

BY L

ATTORNEY G'. A. LONG.

' AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE PAYSTATJONE APPLICATION FILED MAY 25. 1920- 1,383,472. Patented July 5, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 2- IN V EN TOR.

A TTORNEY .G.A."LONG..

AUTOMATIC TELEPHON E PAY STATION.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 25. 1920.

1,383,472, Patented July 5, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 3.

FIG-3 INVENTOR.

ATTORNEY G. A. LONG.

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE PAY STATION.

' APPLICATION FILED MAY 25, 1920- 1,383,472, 7 Patented July 5, 1921.

4 SHEETS-SHEET 4. 3.?

INVENTOR.

A TTORNEY TED. STAT-ES GEORGE A. LONG, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO THE GRAY TELEPHONE PAY STATION CODIPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CON- NECTICUT.

AUTOMATIC TELEPHONE PAY-STATION.

Application filed. May 25,

T 0 all whom it may concern Be it known that I, GEORGE A. LONG, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Automatic Telephone Pay-Stations, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to an automatic telephone pay-station. In Letters Patent 917 ,742 issued to me April 6, 1909, is shown described and claimed a telephone pay-station. The pay-station of said patent is controlled in part by an operator at a central station. -The pay-station involved in the present case, is automatic'in character; that is to say there is no operator at central to connect one local subscriber with another. It is the primary purpose of my present invention, to provide means which'are eflective and certain in action and simple in construction, by which an automatic telephone can be permitted to operate, so that one subscriber through the intervention of proper means may communicate with another local subscriber without the aid of a central operator, yet which will provide for the accurate collection of long distance toll charges when such collection is necessary, this being accomplished by an operator at a central station. In other words, I provide means by which a telephone can exercise all its automatic functions so as to enable one local subscriber to converse with another local subscriber without the intervention of a central office operator, yet, which however, has provision for the collection of toll for the transmission of a message between distant points. It might, therefore be proper to consider that I have adopted the title given somewhat as a matter of convenience and possibly more so, because the improvement was primarily and especially intended for incorporation in or association with an automatic telephone pay-station. In an automatic telephone ay-station there is a dial or equivalent mem er through the agency of which a local subscriber can effect automatically connection, with another local subscri er in the making of a local call. It should be notedth'at this designation dial is used in a general sense to include equivalent means for the same purpose. The dial' also has means b which a subscriber can converse with a ong distance operator to Specification of Letters Patent.

' Patented July 5, 1921.

1920. Serial No. 384,040.

signify to her that such-a call is to be made. To carry this proceeding into effect, it is not necessary to deposit a coin. It requires the depositing of a coin or coins or some token or tokens possessing money value, when-a subscriber desires to make a toll call. When the'proper amount has been deposited into the machine for the transmission of this long distance call, the subscriber will be given his toll connection by central.

In the drawings accompanying and form ing a part of the present specification I have shown in detail one of the several forms of embodiment of the invention, which to enable those skilled in the art to practise the same will be set forth fully in the following description. I am obviously not restricted to this showing. I may depart therefrom in several respects within the scope of the invention defined by the claims following said description.

Referring to said drawings:

Figure l is a front elevation of an-automatic pay-station telephone involving the invention.

Fig. 2 is a front elevation of the upper part of the station with the face plate removed and showing ortions in section, the chutes being removed? Fig. 3 is a rear view with parts in section of the station, the lower portion being removed.

Fig. 4 is a diagram of certain circuit connections.

Like characters refer to like parts throughout the several views which are on different scales.

A telephone pay-station as will be apparent involves a telephone 1 having a receiver and a transmitter. In addition to this, there isa casing in which the operative parts of the station or at least the majorityof them are generally housed. This casing or housing may vary in character. That shown comprises a base portion as 3 and an upper portlon as 4. The coin box or drawer 5 is generally situated in the base portion, the upper portion 4 carrying the telephone transmitter 6 and the telephone receiver 7, the latter being normally sustained by a hook 11 supported within the upper portion .4 and the forked end of which normally re- '10 hitting the in the upper portion 4. of the casing or housing, as 1 W111 later explain. This chute structure is intended for the delivery of coins of different denominations. The chute is of compound type and may for instance be of the same general character as that shown in Letters Patent No. 912,389, granted to me February 16, 1909 and to which reference may be had. The chute structure involves a chute or run-way as 8 for the reception and transmission of nickles, a chute 9 for dimes, and a chute or runway as 10 for the transmission of twenty-five cent pieces. The coins are introduced into the upper or receiving ends of the chutes 8, 9 and 10 through proper openings 18, 14: and 12 as shown for instance in Letters Patent No. 1,188,666 granted to me June 27 1916 and to which reference may also be had.

It will be clear that in making a long distance call, a central office operator needs to be apprised of the introduction of a coin or coins into the station and this is shown by means of signals. The signals may be of any convenient character. Desirably they are audible consisting of the sounds from a bell or gong in resonant connection with the transmitter 6. This resonant connection between an audible signal such as a bell and a transmitter is fully shown for instance in the first mentioned Letters Patent granted to me. form of a bell while that 16 is in the nature of a gong. This is fully disclosed in the first of the patents which I have already identified. It is common, as will be clear, that a nickel in traversing its chute or runway 8 will strike the bell 15 once, while a dime 9 will strike the same "bell twice, the quarter in traversing its chute or run-way gong 16 once. It is of course not always necessary to employ coins because other means such as checks, may be utilized to obtain the same effects. It is conceivable in fact that audible signals may not always be employed yet they are desirable as 1 have found after long practice.

The telephone station is provided on its front with what is known as a dial as 18. This dial has holes or perforations from 1 to 9 inclusive and 0, read anti-clock-wise. The connections between the dial and the sub scribers telephone set requires no detailed description as the same do not. necessarily constitute a part of the invention.

Normally the telephone 1 as a unit is inoperative and inactive and fobviously the .same observation applies to the dial'18.

Before the telephone and the dial associated therewith can be made operative it is imperative that a coin or token of'proper nature be inserted into the pay-station. It will be assumed that one of these stations is set up andthat a subscriber Wishes to The signal 15 is in the.

call. As I have observed the mere taking ofi the receiver from its hook will not do this. Before the telephone can be made to function, it is imperative that a coin or its equivalent be introduced. As a necessity also the receiver must be taken from its hook. After the coin has passed through its run-way it is directed into the coin hop er 23 which is usually furnished with a tifting bottom plate 21. As the coin comes to rest on this bottom plate contact is made through the Weight of the coin which cuts the telephone instrument into circuit. After the coin has performed its function to make the telephone instrument operative, the subscriber will step up his connections through the manipulation of the dial 18. If the party called responds in the usual manner by taking his receiver from its hook, the coin 22 will be automatically released from the bottom plate 21 of thehopper 23 where ithad been at rest and discharged directly into the cash drawer 5 of the calling subscribers station. This procedure represents a completed local call. If on the contrary the desired local connection cannot be had due to the fact that the called party did not remove his receiver from its hook, the calling subscriber upon hanging up his receiver will bring about the release of the coin from its position of rest on the bottom plate 21 of the coin hopper which thereby causes the return of the coin to the outside of the pay-station where it can be recovered by the subscriber. It will be assumed that the subscriber after having inserted a coin into the instrumake a local ment desires to. make a local call for in-' stance that bearing the number 123. After the coin has been deposited in the manner set forth, he puts'his finger into the hole bearing the number 1 and turns the dial until his finger strikes the stop 19, when the dial is freed and is automatically returned to its initial position. This same action is repeated with numbers 2 and 3, as may be known.

When a call is desired for a distant point, the subscriber will insert his finger into the long-distance opening 20 (Fig. 1) and will turn the dial 18 around until further movement is arrested by the stop 19. This will automatically connect the subscriber with the central office operator, no coin being necessary to initiate a long distance call. This is made possible by the reversal of the centhe subscriber must deposit a coin before the desired connection can be made. Local free calls can be had without the deposit of a coin as I have already indicated.

resa e/e When a party desires a long distance call he will turn his dial 18 around in the manner in which I have indicated. This will indicate to the central ofice operator that the subscriber desires a toll call. The central operator will then instruct the subscriber as to the amount to be inserted into the machine. The coins will. then be in troduced in the manner shown in the Letters Patent first. mentioned herein. The central oflice operator then instructs the subscriber to hang up his receiver 7 and tells him that she will advise him when his long distance party is in readiness for con= versation. If she finds this distant party can be had she throws a key marked collect and the money will travel to the cash drawer 5. If she cannot get the called distant party she will throw a key marked refund and the coins will be returned to the subscriber in the manner first shown in my first Letters tPatent.

in advance to the service being rendered.

The present application is generally eaking along the lines of that filed by me ugust 5, 1919 under Serial No. 315,406.

The present apparatus however differs strikingly from that disclosed in said other appllcation in a number of particulars to.

which I have hereinbefore referred fully. The most striking difference is in the fact that the telephone as a unit and the calling dial associated therewith are inoperative by a local subscriber to make a call to another local subscriber. Before this call can be made it is necessary that a coin or its equivalent be introduced into the station and such coin or like thing will cut the subscribers set into full function so that the calling party can dial up the number he wishes and when the called party responds, conversation will proceed in the usual manner. reason the called party does not respond, the line being in use or for other reasons,

the coin will be automatically returned to the calling subscriber.

In Fig. 4 I have shown the connections at the subscribers station by which the coinoperated means can render the telephone operative and which will also render operative the calling dial so that the subscriber can make a local call to another subscriber. The coin-operated means in this case is set in action through a token usually .a nickel which is the general toll for a local call.

This coin therefore when dropped into the station renders the telephone operative and also renders the calling dial 18 operative. Normally therefore both the telephone and the calling dial are inoperative this relation in fact bein shown in said Fig. 2 as well in Fig. 1.. To render the telephone operative and the callin dial also operative for the purpose of making a local call to another It will be thus evi-. dent that an operator can collect toll charges If for any travels along the chute 10 although it operates the bell 15 (Fig. 3) on such traverse, nothing is accomplished by the ringing of the bell. The nickel will emerge from the chute 10 but as it travels along the chute it renders the telephone operative and the calling dial also operative. In its traverse along the chute it goes into the hopper. As the coin drops into the hopper it operates a trip which in turn operates a spring contact as 30. The operation of the spring contact 30 causes said spring cont-act to engage against the spring contact 32 and also opens connections between the contacts 31 and 32. These several contacts 31 and 32 are multiplied to the impulse springs of the dial 18 as by the wires'33 and 34:. When this action takes place thisrenders the dial 18 active. The contact or the connection made by operation of spring contacts 30 and 32 also connects the coin collector 35 to the line wire 34. The coin collector 35 has a ground connection 36 which establishes a connection for the operation of a line relay in the central oifice for callingand also a means for the collecting and refunding of money. After the party has, dropped his coin in the chute 10 and the spring contacts 30 and 32 have been brought together, the subscriber raises the switch hook 7 by taking the receiver 7 thereofi. The transmitter 6 is immediately connected to the line circuit by the wires 37 and 38. I

What I claim is:

1. A telephone pay-station comprising a telephone having a transmitter and a receiver, the station also involving a calling dial associated with the telephone, the telephone being'normally inoperative by a subscriber for the transmission of intelligence to another subscriber, coin operated means at the station, for rendering the telephone operative and for rendering the calling dial operative to make a local call to said other subscriber, and means for effecting the action, by coins of different operative and for rendering the calling dial operative to make a local call to said other subscriber, and means for effecting the action by coins of difierent denominations, of audible signals of different characters.

3. A telephone pay-station comprising a telephone having a transmitter and a receiver, the station also involving a calling dial associated with the telephone, the telephone being normally inoperative by a subscriber, for the transmission of intelligence to another local subscriber, coin operated means at the station, for rendering the telephone operative and for rendering the calling dial operative to make a local call to said other subscriber, and means for effecting the action by coins of different denominations, of audible signals of different characters, said audible signals being in resonant connection with said transmitter.

4. A telephone pay-station comprising a telephone having a ceiver, the station also involving a calling member associated wlth the telephone, the calling member being normally inoperative and the telephone being also normally inoperative, by a subscriber for the transmission of intelligence to another local subscriber, coin operated means at thestation,

transmitter and a refor rendering the telephone operative and for rendering the calling member operative to make a local'call to another subscriber, and means for efiecting the action by coins of different denominations, of signals of different characters for transmission by the telephone to central.

5. A telephone pay-station comprising a telephone having a transmitter and a receiver, the station also involving a calling member associated with the telephone, the calling member being normally inoperative, and the telephone being also normally inoperative by a subscriber for the transmission of intelligence to scriber, coin operated means at the station, for rendering the telephone operative and for rendering the calling member operative to make a local call to another subscriber, and means for efiecting the action-by coins of different denominations, of audible signals in resonant connection with the transmitter of said telephon In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

GEORGE A. LONG.

In presence ofv Hmsr SUTHERLAND, ELSIE M. RABENSTEIN.

another local sub- 

